Can You Keep A Secret?

Can You Keep A Secret? [2]

January 4, 2010

One Month Earlier

I love this time of year. It's cold. I can wear scarves, long sleeves, and jeans, and no one will make fun of me. I have to admit, wearing a turtleneck when the sun comes out has warranted a few laughs before. I have to do what I have to do though. It's monday morning. I'm getting ready for another dreadful day at Jefferson High. I love my mornings though. I have time to myself because no one's home. After school is the worst part of my day. But I never like to ruin my entire day by thinking about that constantly.

When I got out of the shower, I pulled on my favorite pair of jeans and a black sweatshirt. A large portion of my wardrobe consists of black. I'm not goth or anything, I just prefer to blend in. Nothing bright or flashy will ever be found in my closet. Next I pull my hair back into a pony tail. I don't have enough time to blow dry and straighten it. Good thing I was blessed with hair that didn't frizz. The curls were just a little hard to control sometimes. I have smooth skin that's blemish free and freckles that run across my nose. But still, I have to use a heavy amount of foundation. If I didn't, people would see. I don't want anyone to ever see. I finished with my mascara and put on some lip balm. I padded over to my desk and grabbed my books. After shoving them into my backpack I slipped on my converse. Time to go.

School is only ten minutes away so I always walk. I headed down the street and looked at my surroundings. Oregon. It's so... green. The cold started to bite at my exposed flesh so I huddled into my sweatshirt and hurried along my way. As the school came into view I groaned. I was usually earlier than this. I liked to be earlier than everyone. That way I could get to class first and avoid the whole socializing thing. But there were about four hundred of the eight hundred students who attented my high school, already there. I kept a steady pace as I made my way carefully around the groups of roaming students. I pulled open one of the entrance doors, only to run into a hard wall of muscle. I stumbled backwards and felt two arms steadying me. I held on until I was sure I wouldn't lose my balance again. When I finally looked up I met the beautiful eyes of Rylan MacGregor. He gave me a crooked smile showing all of his perfect teeth. I could hardly think.

"I'm sorry," I whispered lamely.

"It's alright," he replied. "No harm done. I should have seen you coming anyway."

His voice was mesmorizing. I probably looked like an idiot just staring at him.

"Dude! You comin' or what?!," someone yelled from somewhere behind me.

"Yeah, one sec!," Rylan replied. He looked back at me and grinned. "If you don't hurry you'll be late for class," he said with a wink.

I watched him walk away toward his friend Andrew Peters. Those two were so popular it was sick. I was still a little stunned that he had talked to me at all. I mean, we've gone to school together since we were little. He never really noticed me though. I rolled my eyes as I made my way to my locker. The hall would be empty in about five minutes I was sure. I grabbed my binders and booked it across the campus to my home room. I walked in and found with disappointment that every seat was taken but one. Front and center. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to take my seat. I flushed red with embarrassment and stumbled my way to the front. I practically fell into the chair when I tripped over the leg of someone elses desk. Oops. I heard snickers from all around the room, but as usual I chose to ignore them.

My day was passing slowly. Uneventfully. By the time lunch rolled around, I was pretty much bored out of my mind. I was also starving. I waited in line to get my food. I was near the end because I got to the cafeteria late. By the time I had my tray of food, all of the tables were taken. I stood there looking around me. You had the nerds, the odd people no one wanted to talk to, the cheerleaders, the jocks, the druggies, the weird emo kids, and... me. I didn't really have a category. I walked to the back of the cafeteria heading towards a table of nerds who had always been nice to me.